site.btaBatova River Valley Area to Protect Natural Habitats

Batova River Valley Area to Protect Natural Habitats


Balchik, on the Black Sea, January 13 (BTA) - A new special
protection area, Batova River Valley, has been designated to
protect natural habitats of mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fish
and other valuable species listed in the Biodiversity Act,
Balchik Town Hall said. The announcement came in the wake of a
draft order issued by the Minister of Environment and Water.
    
The protected zone has an area of 18,459.2 ha around the
villages of Kranevo, Lyahovo, Obrochishte, Rogachevo, Hrabrovo
and Tsurkva, as well as additional areas in Dobrich municipality
 and Varna's Aksakovo municipality.

There are several types of habitats on the site's territory, but
 the biggest share belongs to the broadleaved forests of Quercus
 cerris, Q. frainetto and Carpinus betulus and the farmlands.
The rest of the site's area is occupied by open grasslands, at
places overgrown with shrub vegetation, pastures, meadows,
orchards and vineyards. The region of the Batova estuary is
occupied by natural longoze flooded forests of Baltata with
marshland hygrophyte formations. The longoze flooded forest is
dominated by Fraxinus oxycarpa, Ulmus minor, Quercus
pedunculiflora, Acer campestra and Alnus glutinosa, with
undergrowth of Crataegus monogyna, Cornus mas and Cornus
sanguinea, often combined with mesophyte and hygrophyte grass
vegetation. Other typical plants are the lianas and climbing
plants as Clematis vitalba, Smilax exelsa, Periploca graeca.

Batova is a complex of different habitats, typical both for
woodland bird species and for waterbirds and farmland birds. It
supports 184 bird species, 50 of which are listed in the Red
Data Book for Bulgaria. Of the birds occurring there, 80 species
 are of European conservation concern. The site's most
outstanding feature is its location on the western Black Sea
migration flyway, the Via Pontica. Three flows of migrating
birds, coming from the Dobrudzha meet over the Batova river
valley - those from the interior of the Dobrudzha Plateau, those
 following the coastline and flying from cape Kaliakra across
the sea directly to Baltata flooded forest. The most intensive
flow of migrating storks and pelicans in Northeastern Bulgaria
passes through the Batova river valley, using the valley between
 Frangensko and Dobrudzha Plateaus to gain height and flying low
 above the plateau itself. Because of its importance for over 30
 migrating soaring species, Batova is defined as a bottleneck
migration site of global importance.

At Batova was recorded also the biggest number of migratory
White Pelicans Pelecanus onocrotalus and Cranes Grus along the
northern Black Sea coast. The forests in Batova are used
regularly by raptors as roosting sites during migration. The
coastal parts of the site are of key importance for the
migration of Common Gulls Larus canus. Significant numbers of
waterbirds overwinter in the area of Batova, mainly geese Anser
albifrons, which stay there between December and March. Batova
is one of the most valuable sites in the country on European
Union scale for the Middle-spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos medius
 and Semi-collared Flycatcher Ficedula semitorquata. The Green
Woodpecker Picus viridis, the Corn Bunting Miliaria calandra,
the Pied Wheatear Oenanthe pleschanka, the Greater Short-toed
Lark Calandrella brachydactyla, the Olive-three Warbler
Hippolais olivetorum, the Barred Warbler Sylvia nisoria, the
Ortolan Bunting Emberiza hortulana, etc. also breed there in
considerable numbers.